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Gulf War Syndrome

Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical Findings

Gulf War syndrome, also known as Gulf War illness or chronic multi-symptom illness, is a chronic and multi-symptomatic disorder affecting military veterans of the 1990-1991 Gulf War. A wide range of acute and chronic symptoms have been linked to the illness, including fatigue, muscle pain, cognitive problems, insomnia, rashes, and diarrhea. Approximately 250,000 of the roughly 697,000 United States veterans who served in the Gulf War have an enduring chronic multi-symptom illness, and studies found the health of combat veterans worsened relative to nondeployed veterans between 1995 and 2005, with more new chronic diseases, functional impairment, and repeated clinic visits and hospitalizations.

Facts
Classification
Body System
Muscular System 1
Body System
Nervous System 1
ICD-10 Chapter
XVIII: Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings, Not Elsewhere Classified 2
Communicable or Non-communicable
Non-Communicable 1
Transmission Route
Non-Transmissible 1
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Gulf War syndrome
Wikipedia
  • Infobox medical condition, causes
    Exposure to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as sarin, and possibly other toxic exposures during the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War. See Congressional records for testimony about chemical weapon disposal accident.
  • Lead section, body-system statement
    A wide range of acute and chronic symptoms have been linked to the illness, including fatigue, muscle pain, cognitive problems, insomnia, rashes and diarrhea.
  • Lead section, body-system statement (nervous)
    Since 2022, Gulf War syndrome has been primarily linked to exposure to sub-lethal amounts of organophosphate nerve agents, particularly sarin and cyclosarin, released atmospherically during Coalition attacks on Iraqi chemical weapons facilities.
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2. Wikipedia: ICD-10
WikipediaList of chapters, Chapter XVIII
Quote, List of chapters, Chapter XVIII
Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified
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